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nofomogirl · 3 months

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What we know and don't know after Good Omens S2

Honestly, it's mostly what we don't know.

This was originally meant to be an intro to Before the Beginning (part 1.5.) - a post in my series of posts discussing what we learn from the opening scene of S2 - but I've decided to make it its own thing after all.

I just enjoy reminding myself and others what we know for sure and what is just a theory or a headcanon. So here I go.

#1 The Fall

I've already written about the Fall shortly after S2 aired: Implications of Metatron's offer

My points still stand, except now that I think about it I might have put too much stock in Metatron's words. I think they prove less than I was willing to believe back then, as it's not difficult to imagine they might have all been a bluff.

In short: we don't know what the Fall is and how it actually works.

All that we know is that it happened once, and in the process, part of the angels were transformed and became demons.

The rest is just a long list of questions.

#2 Crowley's Fall

We're not much wiser when it comes to the circumstances of one specific Anthony J. Crowley's Fall.

Let's look at the very few facts we have:

In S1 Crowley claims that "he didn't really fall, he just sauntered vaguely downwards", "he only ever asked questions [and] it was all it took to be a demon", and "he didn't mean to fall, he just hung around the wrong people".

Neil Gaiman suggested more than once that Crowley isn't the most reliable narrator when it comes to his own Fall, and while he's not as bad as Heaven believes, he's also not as good as he thinks.

In Job's minisode, when Aziraphale is on the brink of questioning God's sense of justice ("Yes. But..."), Crowley tells him that was how it started for him too.

We learned from Furfur that Crowley actively took part in the dubious battle on the plains of Heaven just before the Fall.

In the finale, Metatron isn't the slightest bit surprised Crowley didn't take his offer and comments he "always did want to go his own way. Always asking damn fool questions too."

What does it all tell us? Nothing specific, except that perhaps we were a bit too quick to take Crowley's word that he hasn't done anything that would warrant any kind of punishment.

Questioning God's way of doing things was just how it STARTED for him. Asking damn fool questions was something he did TOO.

In short - we have no idea what really happened.

#3 Memory erasure

It's one of those popular headcanons that have been around at least since S1 and got canonically confirmed in S2.

We now know it's something that exists.

And that's where our knowledge ends.

Everything we really saw in the show was Gabriel getting sentenced to having his memories of being Gabriel removed. Then he very quickly moved his whole self to the fly to save it and we don't actually get to see what the result would be if Heaven did it. Would he be the same returned-to-factory-settings goofball or would he be given some memories to fill the blank spaces?

Is it actually possible to plant false memories in someone's head or can you only delete them?

Are memories really erased or just made inaccessible? Gabriel could still force himself to access some of his old memories. Was it because that's how it works and everybody could do it theoretically or was it because the memory-erasing procedure wasn't performed properly in his case?

We know it can be done remotely, but what is the range?

How precise and selective can it be? Gabriel was meant to forget everything. Perhaps that's the only way and you cannot pick and choose what one remembers or not.

We do not know.

#4 Aziraphale and Crowley's relationship

In S2 we have learned that they knew each other before the Fall. But all we saw was one meeting that appeared to be the first one to boot, judging by the fact that Aziraphale introduced himself.

We don't really know if they met again after that, how well they got to know each other, and how close they became.

It's not impossible, that when Aziraphale insists he knew the angel Crowley was, he's not even right about that...

#5 Aziraphale's and Crowley's memories

Last but not least, whatever Aziraphale and Crowley knew initially and whatever events they were part of or witnessed, we have no way of knowing what memories they've kept AND if they're even aware one or both of them might be missing something.

There may be important things that only one of them remembers but since I doubt they've ever compared notes, he operates under the wrong assumption that the other is aware of it too.

Anything is possible, really.

I've seen many convincing theories regarding all of the above and plenty of delightful headcanons. I'm just listing it to keep in mind all the questions remain open.

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens meta #aziraphale #crowley #ineffable husbands

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your-local-simp-writers · 10 months

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Unbreakable Bonds

Word Count: 642

Warnings: None

Miles Morales x Fem! Reader ︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

The sun was beginning to set over the city, casting a warm golden glow on the streets below. Miles and you had spent countless evenings like this, exploring the neighborhood they had grown up in. They were inseparable, their friendship forged in the fires of childhood mischief and shared dreams. They had witnessed each other's triumphs and supported each other through challenges, forming an unbreakable bond that would stand the test of time.

As they walked along the familiar streets, Miles couldn't help but feel a sense of comfort in your presence. She had always been the goofy and sweet one, with a contagious laughter that could brighten even the darkest days. Miles admired her ability to find joy in the simplest things, and he cherished every moment they spent together.

"Remember that time we built that makeshift rocket out of cardboard boxes?" Miles chuckled, reminiscing about one of their many adventures.

You grinned, her eyes sparkling with nostalgia. "How could I forget? We spent hours trying to make it fly, only to crash land right into Mrs. Johnson's rose garden!"

They both burst into laughter, their shared memories washing over them like a warm wave. It was moments like these that made their friendship so special.

As they continued their walk, they passed by a small park, the sound of children's laughter filling the air. Miles noticed a familiar twinkle in your eyes.

"Do you remember when we used to come to this park every summer?" she asked, her voice filled with a mix of longing and fondness.

Miles nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. "Yeah, we'd spend the whole day here, swinging on the swings, climbing the jungle gym, and getting ice cream from that old truck."

The memories flooded back, and for a moment, it felt as if time stood still. They could almost hear the echoes of their laughter and feel the warmth of the summer sun on their faces.

As the night grew darker, they found themselves sitting on a bench overlooking the city skyline. The lights twinkled like stars, illuminating their faces with a soft glow.

"You know," Miles began, his voice filled with a mix of vulnerability and sincerity, "I'm really grateful to have you in my life, (Y/N). We've been through so much together, and even when we're apart, it feels like you're always with me."

You turned to him, her eyes glistening with unspoken emotions. "I feel the same way, Miles. It's like no matter where we go or what we do, our bond remains unbreakable."

They sat in silence for a moment, their hearts speaking volumes that words couldn't express. In that stillness, they knew they shared something special, something that went beyond friendship.

Suddenly, Miles reached out and gently took your hand in his own, intertwining their fingers. The touch sent a jolt of electricity through both of them, as if the universe was aligning their paths.

Without a word, they leaned in, their lips meeting in a tender kiss. It was a moment filled with the weight of unspoken feelings and the promise of something more.

As they pulled away, their gazes locked, they knew that their friendship had transformed into something deeper. It was a connection that couldn't be easily defined, but they were both willing to explore it, one step at a time.

"I think I've always known," Miles whispered, his voice barely audible but filled with certainty.

You smiled, her eyes reflecting the love and affection she held for him. "Me too, Miles. Our bond has always been something extraordinary."

In that quiet moment, as the world continued to spin around them, they knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, they would face them together. Their friendship had blossomed into a love that was as unbreakable as the bond they had shared since childhood.

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foundtherightwords · 2 months

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The Firebird - Chapter 7

Pairing: Prince Paul (Catherine the Great) x OFC, Fairytale AU

Summary: When Paul, a spoiled young prince, spots a strange bird in the forest near his palace, he impulsively chases after it, hoping to both escape from and prove himself to his disapproving mother. Thus he is plunged into an exhilarating adventure across a magical realm populated by enchanted princesses, dangerous monsters, and powerful wizards, an adventure that may change him more than he can ever imagine.

Chapter warning: some injuries (no gore though)

Chapter word count: 4k

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6

Chapter 7 - Crossing the Mountains

They departed before dawn, while Simeon was still snoring on the stove. They left some tea, cheese, and a bottle of kvass for the old man by way of thanks. Then, putting the little stone hut behind them, with Zhara flying ahead and Paul following behind, riding one of the donkeys and leading the other by its reins, they scaled the slope that led into the heart of the mountains.

The road climbed steadily, becoming narrower and narrower the higher they went. By contrast, the trees and bushes were reduced to dwarfish versions of themselves until they disappeared altogether, and there was nothing around but bare rock walls, rising toward the sky on one side, blocking out the sun, and dropping down on the other, toward the ground strewn with more ragged rocks, far beneath. Up ahead, there were yet more rock walls, sheer, dark, forbidding. It was a lot colder as well—it may be summer down in the valley, but here, winter seemed to never have left, and snow still clung to the rock faces high above their heads.

Paul's entire body was on alert, his ears strained for the smallest sound, his eyes strained for any movement, but there was nothing save for the hiss of wind through the cliffs, the monotonous clip-clop of the donkeys' hoofs on the rock, and the flashes of red and gold from Zhara's wings, the only flashes of color in that cold gray world. How is one supposed to prepare for a threat when one doesn't know where it is coming from? He tried to remember what the tales of Nightingale said about how the mythical robber was defeated, but they were always so maddeningly vague. He could only hope that Nightingale would see that they had nothing of value and decide not to target them.

And so it went all day. They stayed the night at another shelter, though this one was all but abandoned, with no cozy stove or tea kettle, no furniture of any kind, only an empty stone hearth. At least the wood box next to it was full, though the wood had been there a while; it was damp and took a while to catch.

While he watched the flames struggling to take hold, Paul recalled something about the tales of Nightingale the Robber. "Are there any poppies around?" he asked Zhara.

"Poppies?" she repeated, lifting an eyebrow quizzically.

"It's what Ilya Muromets used to stopper his ears against Nightingale's whistle," Paul explained, only realizing how idiotic he sounded as he was saying it.

Zhara's lips twitched, but she didn't laugh. "Why poppies?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"I don't know. It's never explained." He paused, then added, "It always bothered me as a child."

"No, there are no poppies to be had around here, I'm afraid," Zhara said. "And I don't think we can count on Ilya Muromets or Dobrynya Nikitich to rescue us either. My brother has captured Alyosha, so it's only a matter of time before he catches them as well. Besides," she added, sadness returning to her eyes, "haven't you learned that those tales don't always unfold the same way here?"

The next day was more of the same, only the cold was more biting. It was so cold that Paul's teeth started chattering despite his thick cloak, and Zhara had to return to her perch on his shoulder to give him some extra warmth. By mid-afternoon, however, a patch of blue sky showed overhead as the cliffs became a little lower and the peaks in the distance became closer. A dark smudge on the horizon suggested a forest in the valley below.

"We're nearly through!" Paul said, relieved. Zhara nodded at him and flew on ahead.

There was a sharp sound, like the screech of a bird of prey, only much more piercing. It went straight through Paul's ears and down his spine, making him shrink back in fear. The donkeys kicked and screamed, and Zhara's wings faltered.

As its echo died off amongst the cliff, a strange, dry, crackling noise immediately followed. Paul was looking around, trying to figure out where this new noise was coming from or what it meant, when a clump of snow hit him on the head.

Confused, he looked up.

To his horror, he saw an entire cliff of snow breaking off on their left, sliding down the mountainside, slowly at first but picking up speed as it went, headed straight for them.

"Watch out!" he yelled. Jumping off the donkey, he tried to pull both animals back, out of the path of the avalanche. The one behind bucked up and ran in a blind panic down the slope. Paul dove after it. The reins ripped out of his hands, burning his palms. The mass of snow was close, so close now. Zhara swooped down and headed the donkey off to stop it from plunging into the gorge below. Right before she could reach the animal, the snow hit. The last thing Paul saw was the red and gold of her wings, then the snow crashed over his head, and the whole world disappeared in a stinging, blinding, choking wave of white.

A moment later, or perhaps a lifetime later, Paul lifted himself out of the snow and shook the sharp crystal out of his wig. He discovered that, either by a stroke of luck or by managing to jump out of the way in time, he had escaped the worst of the destruction. One of the donkeys stood next to him, calm as ever, taking no heed of the snow covering its head. The other one stood a little further down the slope, buried up to its shoulders in snow, but looked otherwise unscathed.

Another screech rang through the ringing, buzzing hum in his ears. Paul looked around wildly, bracing himself for yet another avalanche. A shadow swept across the snow. A giant bird—no, not a bird, but a man—or was it a man? Paul couldn't quite tell. It would be most accurate to describe the figure as a half-man, half-bird creature, covered in feathers of the same mottled gray as the rocks around them. It had human arms, only these arms were also covered in feathers. A pair of wings extended from its back, and instead of human feet, razor-sharp talons extended from its legs.

As this creature plunged low, Paul glimpsed a craggy face, with cruel yellow eyes and a hooked nose. While Zhara retained her human eyes even as a bird, this creature's eyes were more bird than human. Paul cowered. The creature sailed over his head, and, before Paul could blink, closed its talon around the saddle of the other donkey, the one standing further away. With a powerful beat of its wings, the creature rose into the air, taking with it the donkey and all the supplies on its back, leaving behind only the echoes of the poor animal's frightful screams.

Paul clutched at the remaining donkey, too terrified to move. That must have been none other than Nightingale the Robber himself. Paul could only be thankful that he and the remaining donkey had been so well hidden by the snow that the robber hadn't seen them, or perhaps he wasn't interested in them.

It was a long time before his heartbeats slowed and he could breathe normally.

And then his heart dropped again.

He couldn't see Zhara anywhere.

He jumped up, all thoughts of Nightingale the Robber gone from his head. Where had she been before the avalanche struck? When had he last seen her? There had been a flash of gold...

He remembered now—she had been trying to stop the donkey from running away. He scrambled down the slope to where the lost donkey had stood, calling out for her. "Zhara!" Though the snow had been churned up like a sea of foam, he could still make out the four hollows of the donkey's legs. Getting to his knees, he started digging into the snow around the area. The cold stung his palms where they were scratched by the reins, but he barely even noticed. "Zhara!" he called again, his heart hammering in his chest while he kept digging and digging, not caring that Nightingale may come back. There was no sign of her. His hands found rock underneath, and he turned and dug in a wider circle. Still nothing. Could she have been swept all the way into the gorge? Could she have been thrown against a rock and gotten injured? Could Nightingale the Robber have taken her somehow? Each possibility was more terrible than the last, and they all squeezed Paul's heart in a cold grip.

But there was nothing else to do, so he just kept digging in the snow until his fingers were too numb and he was too tired to stir another muscle. The sun was going down, shedding a pale pinkish light over the snow. Paul leaned against a boulder and tried to breathe some life back into his frozen hands, missing Zhara's comforting warmth on his shoulder. The last rays of the sun died away. At that very moment, he saw a faint gleam beneath the snow, like the sun seen through the clouds, a mere few feet away from where he sat, and when it disappeared, there was a shape under the snow—the shape of a girl.

Paul bounded across the snow and rushed to her side. Plunging his still-frozen hands into the snow, he touched skin, cold and stiff as marble. His heart shot to his throat. He scraped the snow away until he unearthed Zhara's prone form, her skin nearly as white as the snow around her. He brushed the hair out of her face with a shaking hand and saw that her eyes were closed and her lips were blue.

"No, no, no..." he mumbled, stripping off his cloak and wrapping her in it. "Zhara? Can you hear me?" There was no movement. But she was made of fire! The snow couldn't hurt her, could it? Only... he had no idea how long she had been buried in the snow. Even the strongest fire would be weakened by that.

Leaning close to her lips, he felt a weak breath touching his ear, and some of his fear lessened. She was still breathing. He needed to get her somewhere safe and warm. Scooping her up in his arms, Paul trudged up the slope, and, after securing her on the back of the donkey, headed into the cold and the dark to find shelter.

He eventually found another stone hut nestled between two cliffs. It was almost as empty as the one from the previous night, though there was a small bed with a straw tick on it in a corner. Paul tipped the entire content of the wood box into the hearth and fumbled with the tinderbox until a fire blazed in the grate. He then dragged the straw tick off the bed, placed it directly in front of the hearth, and gently laid Zhara down on it. She remained inert, with only her chest moving up and down in a shallow breath, getting shallower by the minute. The crackling fire made no difference to her condition at all.

What to do? What to do? He knew he had to warm her up, but how? He went through the meager supplies they had left, took all the clothes he could find, and piled them on her. When that didn't seem to help, he dug through the packs again and found a bottle of some alcoholic-smelling liquid. He tried a sip. It was horrible, sickly sweet, with a bitter, herbal aftertaste, and was so strong it burned his throat and made his eyes water as it went down. But as it settled in his stomach, warmth started stealing through his veins, making him feel like he, too, could shoot fire out of his fingertips. Yes, this could work.

He lifted Zhara into a sitting position and carefully tipped the bottle to her lips. She didn't stir, but he felt her throat move, so he poured a little more in. There was a spluttering, and Zhara bolted up in his arms.

"Dear Alkonost and Sirin!" she exclaimed. "What is that?!"

Paul let out a sigh of relief. "Some sort of liquor Afron gave us," he said. "It'll warm you up."

"Get me d-drunk, more like," she muttered. Then her teeth chattered, and a violent bout of shivers took over her until she was shaking from head to foot, so much so that she had difficulty swallowing a few more gulps of the liquor. It frightened Paul to see her so frail, she who had always been so full of life and of fire—literally. He drew her toward him and vigorously rubbed her hands and arms and back, to get her blood flowing.

Gradually, her trembling subsided, and some of the diamond-blue pallor faded from her lips, though her face was still wan, and she still shivered from time to time.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Hmm." She nodded, nestling closer to him.

Paul's hand slipped under the cloak and grazed her bare skin. Though it was not back to her usual warmth, it was no longer marble-cold, and suddenly he was aware that she was practically sitting in his lap, and his arms were wrapped around her in a tight embrace. Embarrassed, he drew his hand away and set her back down on the straw tick.

"Wh-where are you going?" she asked.

"Oh, I—I'm just—I'm going to—make myself a bed—over there," he stammered, pointing to a corner of the hut.

"D-don't be silly. It's fr-freezing. This m-mattress is big enough f-for the both of us."

Paul hesitated. It really was cold—the moment he turned away from the fire, he could see his breath. Plus, Zhara was still trembling, and the fire felt nice on his hands and face. He gingerly sat back down. Zhara settled into his arms again with a contented sigh—had she always fitted there so well, so naturally? Paul felt a strange urge to run his fingers through her hair, damp from the melting snow, and he had to ball his hands into fists.

"Nightingale took the other donkey and half of the supplies," he said apologetically.

"'s alright," Zhara mumbled, turning her face into his chest. "You saved me."

"I—I didn't do much," he said, trying not to notice how close her mouth was to the open collar of his shirt, how her breath was tickling his skin.

"You did. Thank you, Pavel Petrovich."

It was the first time she'd uttered his name without a hint of mockery or teasing. "Please, call me Paul," he said.

She didn't reply. Certain she had fallen asleep, he carefully lowered himself to the mattress without letting her go.

"I'm sorry I called you a burden, Paul," she whispered.

Paul's heart stumbled. He looked down at Zhara, wondering how he'd ever thought her otherworldly or uncanny. There, snuggled up in his arms, with her eyes closed, her lips, which had started to flush pink again, slightly parted, and her hair falling across her freckled cheek, she looked utterly human, more real than anything he'd ever seen. His name sounded so sweet in her voice that he wanted to ask her to say it again and again. But she needed her rest. "It's all right," he managed. "Go to sleep."

"...You too."

And he did.

***

Paul woke with something tickling in his nose. The window of the hut was a light gray square, and there was a pile of ash and half-burned logs in the hearth. At some point during the night, the fire had burned out, but he was still warm as toast, and he soon discovered why. He was on his back, with Zhara draped over him, her limbs tangled up in his, her hair and his cloak wrapping around them both like a blanket. The tickling in his nose was one of her stray locks. And, to his horror, she was bare under the cloak, all the clothes he wrapped around her having fallen off, and he could feel the hard nubs of her breasts through his shirt, while her thighs were pressing perilously close to the hardness between his own legs. He jumped up and shoved her away as though they were both on fire—which was not far from the truth.

Thankfully, the sun came up just then, and poking out from under the cloak wasn't the indignant face of a girl but a beak and a pair of amber eyes blinking blearily at him. Somehow she managed to look irritated, even as a bird.

"Nightmare—sorry," Paul mumbled, scrambling to cover himself.

Zhara wriggled her neck and shoulders in a gesture that Paul had come to recognize as the avian equivalent of a shrug, and, tucking her beak under her wing, she went back to sleep.

She spent most of that day asleep, burrowed into Paul's pocket under his cloak as usual. He would check her from time to time to make sure she was comfortable, and was heartened to feel her warmth returning. The frigid air and the snow also receded as they descended the mountains, and that night, when they stopped at another shelter, the air was practically balmy.

"How are we going to secure Tsarevna Elena's hand in marriage?" Paul asked over their supper, which consisted of bread and some dried meat—the best he could do under the circumstances. He was only grateful that Zhara had had the foresight to divide their supplies evenly. "Are we simply going to present Afron's suit on his behalf?"

Zhara, who seemed to have recovered completely, much to Paul's relief, didn't mind the meager meal. "No, that's not going to work," she replied, chewing her meat thoughtfully. "Her mother, Tsarina Kostroma, is half-leshy, and thus very proud."

"Half-leshy? Is that even possible?" Paul asked, thinking of the leshy's inhuman physique. Zhara gave him an exasperated look, and he threw up a conciliatory hand. "My apologies. Pray continue."

"Well, Kostroma is very protective of Elena. Other than a few official court functions, she never lets Elena do anything or meet anyone. She keeps her all but locked up." Paul was quiet, thinking of his own mother. Was Elena's mother protecting her, or did she simply want to avoid sharing power with her daughter, like his mother?

"A marriage with Afron would be greatly beneficial," Zhara continued, "as it would join both kingdoms, but Kostroma would never hear of it."

"Having met Afron, I can't exactly blame her," Paul said mildly.

One corner of Zhara's mouth lifted in a sardonic smile. "I agree, but we're not tasked with making Elena fall in love with him."

"So what are we going to do then?"

"How does it happen in those tales of yours?"

"Prince Ivan kidnaps her."

"Well then, we shall kidnap Elena."

Paul stared at Zhara to see if she was in earnest. She grinned. "We shall think of something." It was less than reassuring, but somehow, when she said it, he believed her.

When it came time for sleep, there was a bit of a fuss. Like the shelter the night before, this stone hut only had one rickety bed, which Paul insisted that Zhara take.

"But you've wanted to sleep in a bed for so long," she protested.

Paul may not be heroic or noble, but he couldn't bear the thought of being discourteous. "What, and let a lady sleep on the floor? I'm not some savage!"

Zhara sat down on the straw tick. "We can always share," she said. "It won't be the first time."

Though she said this quite matter-of-factly, Paul could detect—or thought he could detect—the slightest hint of a tremor in her voice, a conscious effort to sound nonchalant. It sent a flush throughout his body, starting from somewhere below his waist and spreading all the way to the very tips of his ears. He would not have a repeat of that morning's humiliation.

"I shall sleep on the floor," he said in a voice that invited no further discussion.

Later, as he was wrapped up in his cloak on the floor in front of the bed, Paul suddenly said, "Am I supposed to fall in love with Elena?" He didn't understand what made him say so; only the question of love had been on his mind lately, and he had gotten so used to speaking his thoughts aloud when Zhara was a bird that he was doing the same even when she was human.

"Why did you ask that?" came Zhara's voice from above him.

"That's how it happens in the tale. Now, I know nothing has happened exactly like it does in the tale so far, but—"

"I can't predict the future, you know," she said, sounding amused. "Why don't you meet her and decide for yourself?"

"I don't think you can simply decide who to fall in love with."

"Is that so?"

"My mother has been forcing me to choose a bride amongst the princesses of our neighboring kingdoms." He had never talked much to Zhara about his mother or his life, whether out of a misplaced sense of pride or simply because it was painful to mention such things, he did not know.

Zhara turned over, her eyes glimmering in the firelight. "What are they like, the princesses of your world?"

"I've never met them," he said with a shrug. "Their portraits were sent to my mother, and she picked out the ones she deemed suitable for me."

She propped herself up on her elbow to look down at him. "So you must decide if you can fall in love with one of them... based on their pictures?"

"I don't think love has anything to do with it."

"I suppose you're right," she said, lying back down with a sigh. "My father married my mother for love, and look how that turned out for him. She broke his heart."

They were both silent for a while, him staring at the fire, her looking up at the rafters of the hut, lost in their own thoughts.

"Still, though... I rather wish I could marry for love," eventually Paul said. It was a foolish notion, of course, a boy's dream. But he couldn't help it. In the stories, the hero and the heroine always fall in love at first sight and live happily ever after, never quarreling, never having to worry if they were good enough. How could he not want the same?

"Perhaps you'll meet someone here," Zhara said quietly, almost too quiet to be heard.

But he did hear her. Startled, Paul twisted his head to look at her. She had closed her eyes and appeared to be asleep. He turned back to the fire, trying to let the cracking and popping of the flames clear his mind. He didn't know how long he lay there. The fire was in danger of dying out and his thoughts were no clearer than before, when he felt something warm on the side of his face, warmer than the fire. Zhara's arm had dropped over the edge of the bed, and her fingers were brushing his cheek, almost like she was caressing him. Not daring to breathe, for fear of waking her up, he reached up, ran his hand gently over her arm, stroking the smooth skin on the inside of her wrist. And, pressing that warm, soft hand against his temple, he felt the wild thoughts in his head calm at last. He didn't remember falling asleep.

Chapter 8

Taglist: @ali-r3n

#prince paul #tsarevich paul #catherine the great #prince paul fic #prince paul x ofc #joseph quinn #joseph quinn fic

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ghost-with-a-teacup · 2 years

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𝙏𝙤 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙄𝙣 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙜 ~ 𝘼𝙡𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝘿𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙪 𝙭 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

Summary: After a long day, there's nothing more you'd like than a warm bath to soothe your aching bones (which frankly, you should not have with the superhuman capabilities you possess, but it's okay you supposed). But with the nighttime came the silence, something you were unused to in Castle Dimitrescu. To fill the silence you begin to sing, and before long you find another voice joining your own in perfect harmony.

A short fluffy fic about singing with our darling Alcina, because there is no doubt in my mind she would have the loveliest voice :))

Warnings: Mentions of sex (but it's quite literally just a passing joke, nothing extreme lol)

Authors Note: Hello~ Back again with a brand new fic! It was nice to finally have time to write, haha. This, you may all recall, is based off of a headcanon I wrote a few days ago. Hope you enjoy! Oh, and thank you @sandyyybonham for giving me the incentive to write this, haha.

With a groan you leaned back into the chair you sat in, rubbing your eyes in exhaustion after finishing the paperwork you were tasked to do at long last. It was as though all at once the tiredness you had pushed down came flooding to the surface, and even despite the superhuman traits you had from the cadou the events of the day still wore you out.

Glancing out the window you saw that the last bits of light had already ebbed away making room for the night. The moon shone brightly from its place in the sky and bathed the world in its unearthly glow and it left you thinking about where the day had gone. Had you really been working for that long? It had seemed as though only moments ago you were eating dinner with Alcina and the girls and all of a sudden it was already this late at night.

Letting out a low sigh you heaved yourself up from your seat, brushing your fingers through your hair that somehow accumulated knots despite your lack of movement. Stretching for a moment your back popped satisfyingly. ‘So much for superhuman, you still crackle like an old woman’ you thought to yourself amusedly.

What you needed right now was a bath to soothe the aches of the day away. In a flash, your body transformed into those butterflies you were so accustomed to, fiery red in colour and would burn just as brightly if you wanted them to. You had debated walking but if you could fly then why wouldn’t you?

Making your way through the halls you were met with an emptiness you only saw this late at night, the only movement being the flickering of the candles as you flew past. Finally you made it to your shared room with Alcina and were met with that same emptiness. Quietly humming to yourself, you figured that she must still be in the same predicament you were in. Knowing she would finish up and find you when she was done, you headed off into the bathroom.

Reforming only the top half of your body, you floated around the room collecting all the bath salts and soaps you wanted to use that evening. Turning the tap on you allowed the hot water to fill the bath up, filling the room in a sweet yet calming aroma that automatically soothed you. It definitely helped that it smelled just like Alcina, florally and comforting.

Once the bath was filled to a nice level you stripped off your clothes, not bothering to fold them up and opting to leave them where they lay. You could almost see the slightly disapproving look on Alcina’s face already but you knew she loved you too much to say anything. You could easily make your butterflies carry them aside but couldn’t even find the will to do that small task.

Floating down into the bath you let out a satisfied sigh as the heat of the water soaked into your muscles, carrying any discomfort away like the flow of a river. Closing your eyes you settled in and just enjoyed the silence for a little while.

Before long the silence became a little discomforting though, you were so used to the loudness of the castle after all, whether it’d be idle talk between your daughters, gossiping from the maids or whatnot. To fill the silence you cleared your voice a bit before you started to sing a tune, a song you knew almost as well as the back of your hand.

Your voice carried an almost magical quality as it echoed against the bathroom walls, and you sat up a bit more as you moved to wash your hair.

They say that falling in love is wonderful

It's wonderful, so they say

You sang, the lyrics of Doris Day putting you in a good mood. This was a favourite of Alcina’s, a little something from her own time. More often than not it would be playing on the gramophone, the melody playing in the background as your hands were held in hers, swaying to the tune.

And with the moon up above, it’s wonderful

It’s wonderful, so they tell me

All of a sudden a warm voice joins in alongside yours in perfect harmony, low and smooth as velvet; one that you adored more than anything. If the song had sounded magical earlier it surely sounded ethereal now.

Turning slightly in the tub, your gaze met Alcina’s as you continued singing together, matching grins on each of your faces so impossibly tender and loving.

I can’t recall who said it

I know I’ve never read it

Step by step Alcina came closer and you held out your hand for her to grasp onto, and that she did. Running your thumb over the top of her pale skin you pulled her closer and she falls to her knees before you, singing face to face.

I only know they tell me that love is grand, and

The thing that’s known as romance

Your eyes fell to her crimson lips as they moved, completely enraptured by them. How you longed to press your lips to hers, yet you refrained from doing so to continue the song.

It’s wonderful, wonderful

In every way, so they say

Against your will, some of your butterflies escape from your body to instead start flying around the room, shining brightly with their little flames. It cast the room in a warm glow, like twinkling lights on a crimson-curtained stage.

To leave your house some morning

And without any warning, you’re stopping people

Shouting that love is grand, and

Alcina brings up her other hand not already intertwined with yours and runs it over your cheek affectionately and you can’t help but lean into her touch, closing your eyes at the blissful feeling.

To hold a woman in your arms is wonderful, wonderful

In every way, so they say.

You both end the song, final notes trailing softly to a stop with the echo following quickly after. You both stay in your spots for a moment, simply gazing into each other's eyes and getting lost in them. Alcina’s quiet chuckle breaks your reverie though.

“Here I am returning to our room after a long day, exhausted out of my mind when suddenly I hear your voice singing along to my favourite song. How you always manage to brighten my day never ceases to amaze me, my darling,” she says fondly, pressing a kiss to your lips now that the song is done. You deepen the kiss for a moment before pulling away with a goofy smile.

“What can I say, my love. I’m just exactly what you need,” you say, your tone bold and proud. Alcina only snorts before pressing a kiss to your damp shoulder.

“I’d hope so, there’s a reason I married you after all,” she states simply before standing up to make her way to the sink for her nightly routine. Your cheeks flush despite the simple words, how you managed to become Alcina’s wife you’ll never know, but you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Oh? I thought it was because of the amazing sex,” you joked, a smirk playing across your face. Alcina throws her head back in laughter. “Well, that certainly is an aspect that played into it”, she says lowly, her darkened gaze trailing across your body. You felt yourself flush once more as you let out a shaky breath. Alcina notices this as she stares at you through the mirror of course, and her grin only widens.

Coughing lightly, you try to play it off.

“Well for me personally, I married you because I know there’s no one on this Earth that I could possibly love more than you, my love,” you admit softly, the words almost too sacred to admit too loudly. It was nothing but the truth, however, that you knew.

Alcina’s eyes only soften, her gaze so loving you felt as though you would melt under it.

“If there’s anyone’s antics I would rather deal with for the rest of time, it would be yours,” she says jokingly, but you understand what she means. An eternity spent together? There’s nothing better than that.

“I love you, my darling. If there’s anything you can be sure of, it’s that,” Alcina says, walking back towards you to capture your lips in another kiss that filled your overflowing heart even more so.

A/N: Hi, so I'm here the morning after and jesus christ I really fucked up the formatting LMAO. And there were so many edits I needed to do, hhhhhhh. This is why you don't post without proofreading, kids!!

#lady dimitrescu #lady dimitrescu x reader #lady alcina #lady dimitrescu x gn! reader #lady dimitrescu x maiden #alcina dimitrescu x gn! reader #alcina dimitrescu #resident evil village #resident evil 8 #resident evil alcina #alcina dimitrescu x reader #re8 #lady alcina dimitrescu #just pure fluff

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doodles-and-memes · 2 years

Text

New thoughts about season 3 of The Cuphead Show:

How Cuphead will get to Hell, possible episode plots and more...

Please, bear with me people, I just can't keep it short ! Some of the things I wrote are probably obvious but I still needed to vent.

"Here goes nothing..."

I'll never get over that cliffhanger and the fact the season 2 trailer already showed us a short glimpse from next season (AND I SWEAR THERE HAS TO BE ONE). But thanks to that, we do know Cuphead will manage to summon the "Hellevator" and try to go save Mugman.

The question is: How ?

The most obvious answer would be to say thanks to the pitchfork. Judging by his sculpture of Mont Mugmore (Seriously, Mont Mugmore ?? Can we talk about it ? IT SENDS ME 💀This gesture was so sweet, random and funny at the same time 😭), Cuphead seems to be perfectly able to use it on his own after all. He is even great at it.

Unfortunately, we saw several times The Devil and Henchman could use the Hellevator without it, probably using some dark magic then. So it seems the pitchfork's powers are limited to flying, zapping, destroying and transforming, but not summoning things.

If not the pitchfork, then what ?

Now this is where I get frustrated: I perfectly remember someone shared an intriguing image here on Tumblr a few weeks ago, but I couldn't find it again. This image was a storyboard showing Cuphead drawing occult symbols on the floor with a chalk and the Hellevator appearing in front of him. If this comes from an official source, then it's very likely that Cuphead will perform a magic ritual to descend to Hell.

But who could teach him this ritual ?

As much as I'd like to see Elder Kettle getting involved in Mugman's rescuing mission in one way or another, it feels like Cuphead won't tell him anything. We all saw how the old guy was ready to fight in "Rats all folks" and several other occasions. I can't believe he wouldn't want to jump in the Hellevator with Cuphead to save his adoptive grandson and beat the Devil to a pulp ! Family just means everything to him. And yet, he doesn't appear in this short clip.

Two options: 1. He got kidnapped as well minutes after Mugman, which would then make Cup's nightmare premonitory.

2. Cuphead hides the truth from him, either to protect him or because he doesn't want to make him upset.

In any case, I really don't think the creators will introduce the peashooter weapon from the game in the series. Otherwise, with a power like this, Cuphead would look a lot more confident while entering the elevator, which is clearly not the case in the image above. With his sloppy shoulders and big worried eyes, he looks scared, unsure of himself, vulnerable and all alone.

What about Chalice ?

Maybe Chalice could be the one helping him set the ritual, but I'm not convinced at all. She's been the kind of person to "lay low" (her own words) when things go wrong. Even less than the police or an angry mob, she certainly wouldn't want to deal with the Devil. Unless she remembers how Mugman stood up for her and wants to do the same for him. ATM there's no confirmation she can take the form of the Legendary Chalice or if she has other mystical powers. If she follows Cuphead to hell, it seems she opted for her invisible ghost mode (not cool, Chalice !).

With Elder Kettle out of the big picture and Chalice being a bit unreliable, it's pretty safe to say there's only ONE character in the Inkwell Isles with enough wisdom and knowledge to help our poor boy reach Hell.

"A sage adviser, rumored to know all..."

Quadratus the great and wise !

I don't think there's a better time to ask for his advice than in such a desperate situation. Quadratus HAS to be the one teaching Cuphead the ritual to summon the elevator. He was the one giving the invisible yarn to Mugsy for him to knit the impenetrable sweater that would protect Cuphead from the Devil. The circle would be closed if Quadratus now helped Cuphead to save Mugman from Hell.

And here's the first difficulty Cuphead will face: just like Mugsy said, "[one] gotta make the water fizz so he'll appear."

The first time, the bros used Cuphead's sour fizzy jawbreaker. I'm pretty sure Mugsy then had some fizzy candies left in his pumpkin bucket, but OOPSIE- Cuphead ate them all in a moment of extreme temptation and never replaced what was stolen in the end 😀 (he is SO going to hate himself if it happens)

It can only mean one thing, my lil' buddies...

BACK TO SUGARLAND WITH A NEW EPISODE PLOT !!!

Consider this: Baroness von Bon Bon decides she'll forgive Cuphead for breaking her laws and allow him to take another fizzy jawbreaker ONLY if he delivers her from her ancient curse ! Remember she said it was "a story for another time". I never played the game, but Djimmy the Great could be involved with his wishes !

What if next season consists of Cuphead's quest to gather important artefacts for the ritual ? Forcing him to encounter more game bosses ? If the season goes like this, it will be an opportunity to develop Cuphead's character by making him realise how much more difficult everything is without his brother by his side and how much he took him for granted. Having no one to watch his back or help him will teach him to be more observant and careful, and how it can be hard and exhausting. Being worried for Mugsy will also make him understand better his brother's own feelings and protectiveness. After calling him "lame and boring" several times in season 2, something has to make him acknowledge how capable, awesome and brave his little bro has been and actually is, despite all his fears and worries. THEY NEED TO RELATE MORE !

Finally, I want to see Cuphead ask Quadratus how Mugman even heard about him in the first place. And I want Quadratus to reveal by some sort of flashbacks that his little brother was so worried about the whole "owing-the-Devil-his-soul" situation he couldn't find sleep and spent nights after nights searching in books to find a solution and protect him. So Cuphead will finally understand how much it affected Mugsy and how much he always cared for him.

We stan this precious little cautious bookworm here 🥺

Mugman has always been there for Cuphead when he needed it, and now it's Cuphead's turn to be there for him as well.

Last little idea: Remember the impenetrable sweater was effective thanks to Cups and Mugs brotherly love ? Well, you know what else has been crafted with love by Mugman ? The tandem bike ! Quadratus may have advised Cuphead to take the tandem bike with him to Hell because it will be useful for both brothers (helping them to reconcile ? To escape from hell through the big gate ?).

If you've read this far, thank you and congrats people ! I didn't think my nonsense could interest anybody. I don't know what to give you as a reward, so have this stupid song:

#the cuphead show #cuphead #mugman #I live for the cupbros being wholesome #and Cuphead appreciating his brother's worth #elder kettle #legendary chalice #baroness von bon bon #theory #I guess my brain basically only has two modes: OVERTHINK and MEMES #all aboard the angst train

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belit0 · 9 months

Note

GOD- I HAVE THE PERFECT SONG

am i the only person who when hearing "blood//water - grandson" thinks of indra? 😭

YOU GOT IT RIGHT! NO PROBLEM!!! (can be either to relate characters with songs or to talk about the characters themselves with the lyrics!!)

IN FACT, I ONCE STARTED TO WRITE SOMETHING FOR INDRA WITH THIS SONG BUT THEN I DISAPPEARED LOL, SO THIS IS MY REVENGE!!!

"We'll never get free, lambs to the slaughter. What shall you do when there's blood in the water, brother?" Indra asks in disgust, infernal fires roaring inside his chest at the image unfolding before him.

He holds his two nephews by the hair, a girl and a boy, as young as eight years old, presumably twins, whom he never had the good fortune to meet. When he learned his younger brother had had heirs, it was time to strike where it would hurt the most.

"The price of your greed is your son and your daughter. Again, what shall you do when there's blood in the water Ashura?" Both children cry in panic, begging their father to do something, to save them from the monster who stole them from the safety of their beds at night, to intervene and protect their lives.

On the floor, the younger Otsutsuki lies on his knees, both hands braced in front of his body to support his own weight, knowing that if he moves even a single muscle presumptuously, his brother will not hesitate to end his children's lives. There is a bead of sweat rolling down his temple, lower lip clenched between his teeth as he alternates his gaze between the two, trying to decide.

"Look me in my eyes Otouto, tell me everything's not fine, people ain't happy, and our river has run dry," Indra comments cynically, as if the kids' cries fuel his hatred more and more. He crouches down on the floor behind them and releases their hair to catch them by the neck, pressing them against each of his shoulders and stealing their breath in the process.

The little ones stop screaming due to the lack of oxygen, and the haunting Machiavellian grin shining on his older brother's face is something he only saw in his worst nightmares. "You thought you could go free, start a family, yet our father's system is done for." He can see his children's little faces turn redder and redder, paralyzed on the ground and adrift, following his brother's will only to try to preserve their lives.

If Indra really wanted to kill them, he would have done it already.

"If you listen here closely, there's a knock at your front door. I've been hunting you for a long time, and now I'm here."

"Please... Aniki!"

His response is a laugh full of malevolence, as he releases his nephews and hugs them as though genuinely loving them, holding their heads against his neck and kissing the crown of their heads as a doting uncle would. There is a different gleam in his eyes, unlike the one he wore the last time he saw him, when they fought to death the last time.

Indra is completely out of his mind.

"Aniki... Aniki... Aniki... no need to drag them into this, just take me and-"

"Beg me for mercy Ashura, admit you were toxic! You poisoned me just for some more power in your pocket... Now I am the violence, I am the sickness, won't accept your silence, beg me for fucking forgiveness!" His face transforms, features mutating into violence and proper madness, an aura darker than normal surrounding him as he holds the children by the collars of their shirts, lifting them into the air as he stands on his feet.

Ashura can only follow the image from the ground, in the same position since this terrifying scene began, watching bleary-eyed as his kids find themselves at the mercy of a true psychopath.

"The price of your greed is your son and your daughter. What shall you do?" Before he can reply to his twisted riddle, his children's backs are illuminated by a flash of blue, a cloud of electricity that stiffens their bodies. The elder Otsutsuki sends them flying through the air with ease, and before they can touch the ground, he pierces both of their chests with both of his hands, pulling out their hearts on the spot.

"I AM THE PEOPLE, I AM THE STORM, I AM THE RIOT, I AM THE SWARM! WHEN THE LAST TREE'S FALLEN ANIMAL CAN'T HIDE, POWER WON'T SOLVE IT! WHAT'S YOUR ALIBI ASHURA?" The wickedness of his actions is palpable in the air, and between unhinged screams he drops the inert bodies of his nephews, letting them fall to the ground with a hole in their chest and their dull eyes.

"WHAT SHALL YOU DO WHEN THERE'S BLOOD IN THE WATER?!"

#indra otsutsuki #otsutsuki indra #indra #ashura otsutsuki #otsutsuki ashura #ashura #indra otsutsuki x ashura otsutsuki #otsutsuki indra x otsutsuki ashura #ashura otsutsuki x indra otsutsuki #otsutsuki ashura x otsutsuki indra #ashura x indra #naruto shippuden #naruto imagines #naruto #uchiha clan #otsutsuki family #otsutsuki clan

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mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune · 1 year

Photo

Crossover: Reaper-Queen, Codsworth, Sari Sumdac & Prima-Frost (2023)

----------------

Credit for Transformers goes to Hasbro & Takara

Credit for Transformers Animated goes to Sam Register & Matt Youngberg

Credit for Mass Effect Series goes to BioWare

Credit for Fallout Series goes to Bethesda Softworks

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[Note: Might Have To Click On The Drawing To Make It Bigger.]

even though I had started this drawing on January 31, 2023...

I had just finished it on February 1, 2023 and posting it on February 1 as well...

there is some info that says that was suppose to be a Reaper Queen from Mass Effect, who didn’t agree with the other Reapers, which I guess would make her part of the Good Guys...

and well I just had to draw her as a type of “Cybertronian” and originally I was gonna go with “red eyes” but decided with green eyes instead, because of one of the endings where you don’t have to destroy the reapers, but instead can make everyone half-organic and half-synthetic, still haven’t got that far into that part that happens in Mass Effect 3....I am still trying to make just to keep both Jack and Miranda’s loyalties, which I want to try to build up the paragon a bit more before I do Jack’s Loyalty Mission.

we could explain how Reaper-Queen is able to transform from her ship form to a robot form, could be thanks to the Allspark, which could of gave her a spark as well as the ability to transform into robot mode.

the “wings” that Reaper-Queen has, is part of her original form, and when she does transform into her ship form, those “wings” become her ship body, but when she transforms into robot form, they mimic as wings, and she could even still fly even if the “wings” are just for show and are still part of her other form.

and even if it might not look like it, that Mr. Handy is suppose to be Codsworth from Fallout 4....

the Sari in this drawing, is a alternate timeline version, like from a TFA-AU type of concept, where Sari still uses the key to upgrade herself but doesn’t use all of it’s power but only half of it, this means that while Sari did upgrade herself, she still stays the same age and still stays 8 years old and doesn’t skip a few years like her TFA mainstream timeline counterpart Sari Sumdac.

this would also mean that this version of Sari, had used her key to bring Prowl back to life, since the key still has power and wasn’t fully used to upgrade Sari.

and now that I think about it, if Wheelie is maybe 9 stellar cycles old and a natural born and who’s protoform wasn’t artificially mass produce by the misuse of the living metal of the sonic canyons...

Wheelie might of been born on one of the colony planets, and thus had parents who weren’t infected by the sterilization program, which again is both a theory and a fan headcanon.

I still think there could be some of dark secret that has do with Ultra Magnus injected artificial protoforms with a sterilization program, which is in liquid form, this would stop the Autobots from budding, but could be cured by the Allspark, and the reason why it was send off world in the first place, wasn’t because it was to keep it out of Decepticon hands, but it would end up curing every Autobto from the sterilization and make them fertile, and the reason why Ultra Magnus started that mess in the first place, was because he didn’t want to wait for a sparkling to grow up so they could become a Autobot Soldiers.

Ultra Magnus possibly not only had the protoforms made from the living metal from the Sonic Canyons, be injected with a sterilization program, but also once they were no longer sparkless and were given spark from Vector Sigma, they were also program to age to 16 Stellar Cycles old and never experience sparkling childhood, and then would be send to the Autobot Boot Camp at some point.

Cybertronian Children like Wheelie and Sari, were born off world and Sari was born from a Decepticon Parent and a Human Parent, well Megatron went through budding stage, and Isaac happen to find the newborn protoform that was just born in his lab, and when he touched the protoform, the protoform doesn’t just scan his DNA but also absorbs some of the genetics from it, making him Sari’s actual biological parent as well as the secondary parent, while Megatron is still the one who her CNA comes from, and he is still the Mom.

Wheelie might of been born on a colony planet, that had some Autobots or Neutrals who weren’t in contact with those on Cybertron for a super long time, and had no idea of Ultra Magnus’s plans to make Autobot Soldiers much faster, by stopping the budding stage and making it so that some of the new Autobots had all aged up to 16 stellar cycles old, which in human years that would be 16 years old.

the colony planets, could be the planets that make up the Autobot Commonwealth, and it might be possible while the Autobots who still live on Cybertron were all made sterile and end up misusing their planet’s sonic canyons to make artificial protoforms...

the Autobots from the Commonwealth Autobot Colonies, could still all be fertile, just like the Decepticons.

anyway, besides Sari being the first protoform being born on Earth because of Megatron going through the budding stage, she might be the second one to be born in a long time, next to Wheelie who could be a year/stellar cycle older than her...

the TFA-AU version of Sari in this drawing, could become best friends with Wheelie when she goes with Optimus Prime and his team back to Cybertron.

there might not be very many children on Cybertron, because of the sterilization program to stop the budding stage, which again is a TFA theory, and a I believe that a natural born protoform that looked like how Sari looked before she became half-organic, are the same size as a human newborn baby.

which if it is true, that means that their Cybertronian parents would have to be very super careful when holding them, because they could be fragile like a human baby....

anyway the TFA-OC that I drew in this, well I originally wanted to call them Frost-Spark, but decided to call them Prima-Frost instead...

not just if I will draw them again though, anyway back to the talk about the Alternate Universe of Sari in this, unlike the Sari from the main timeline from the show and comics, this Sari is still a child and only used a little bit of the key’s power to upgrade herself, and because she didn’t drain all the key’s power and allowing it to recharge properly, it was able to be use later to bring Prowl back to life.

unlike the other Sari, this Sari can still grow up a little more before becoming I guess a teenager who is 18 years old.

this version of Sari still wears the key around her neck, in both her human and robot form.

I like the idea of a crossover between Mass Effect and Transformers Animated,

and I also hope someday the Reaper Queen becomes fully canon, and not just a Semi-Canon that got scrapped, the idea could still work...well I think it could still work, and maybe Shepard and Reaper Queen could form a true symbiotic bond, unlike Saren and the Reaper who was only using him and didn’t truly form a true symbiotic bond, Saren might of only been fooling himself into believing it was a true symbiotic bond.

I guess it is still wishful thinking about the Reaper Queen becoming fully canon, and not just semi-canon, and forming a symbiotic bond with Shepard.

but a Mass Effect Fan can dream right...? XD

#mass effect fanart #fallout fanart #transformers animated fanart #crossover fanart #mass effect reaper #codsworth #sari sumdac #tfa oc

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twin-books · 2 years

Photo

Yesterday I sketched my Ladybug design for my old comic idea I had that was going to be based on the in between concepts of the Ladybug PV and the CGI show we have now. I was going to name it “Here Comes Ladybug” after the awesome rejected theme song for Miraculous that never happened. I have been hiding her away for quite some time just hoping, one day, I would make that comic. Turns out I just couldn’t do it so I may as well show her off. The AU was meant to celebrate the spirit of Miraculous but not be the same because that would be rather boring. If you want to learn more about her, it’s under the cut.

Her civilian name was originally going to be Bridgette (because I was not very creative) but now I want to call her Jeanette. It has “ette” in it (which was important to me for some reason) and I always thought the name was pretty. Jeanette is beloved by her friends for her high-energy, positive attitude as well her creativity. She loved art, tinkering, and fashion. She also loved cats and with every outfit she designed you could always find a cat somewhere, sometimes it just took some searching. It was basically her signature. Honestly, you could kind of compare Jeanette to Tohru from Fruits Basket but just more headstrong which is ironic because I hadn’t watched Fruits Basket for years when making this. I barely even remembered it. Also, her best friends were Adele (basically like a mix of Alya and Alix who is the only one to know Ladybug’s true identity), Renée (basically a mix of Zoe and Mylene, ironically before we knew Zoe was even gonna be a thing) and Adrien, who I have renamed Liam (man, I was not freaking creative at all with these names). Liam and Bridgette were best friends since childhood but have had a bit of a rift between them ever since the death of his father. Unbeknownst to her, Liam has a crush on her. Yeah, I really wanted a reverse love square for some reason. Her flaws included bottling up her own emotions which sometimes leads to reckless behavior and not thinking before leaping into action among other things. The ladybug miraculous in this AU represented Good Luck and Creativity. As Ladybug her powers included good luck; good luck would effect her for only a 5 minute time period and therefore she usually used it once she used her main power to have an extra advantage for the 5 minutes she could stay transformed. She could also channel it and give some of it to other people. Tikki (I kept Tikki and Plagg’s names because I liked them too much) also had a residual effect afterwards where she would bring Jeanette a lot of good luck, though it was minor but not completely unnoticeable so Jeanette has to be careful after a battle. She also had creativity, or gadgetry, which was her main power. It could only be performed if she was in possession of her weapon “The Bug” which looked like a slightly bigger version of CGI Ladybug’s yo-yo that attached to her back. With it she could transform it into any gadget she so desired. This was based on the old concepts of Ladybug creating a staff to fight with from her yo-yo, as well as a shield and a smoke bomb. She could also, only use it about 2 times so she had to make it count. If she lost her weapon she only had good luck and the abilities the miraculous gave her due to the ladybug it was based off of and the high power a kwami possessed. These included enhanced agility, enhanced strength (though near the level of the CGI show), the ability to walk on walls and ceilings, and flight (though I’m still pretty indecisive if she could actually fly without the bug or not because I like the concept of the yo-yo giving Ladybug wings but that would mean she couldn’t fly without her bug). Ladybug also grew a huge crush on Chat Noir not only for his heroic nature but because he was the only one she felt she could truly talk to despite not knowing his true identity. The idea being, they only don’t reveal themselves because they want to see if they can trust each other. Though, part of it for Ladybug is just that she’s afraid. The fun idea for her first transformation was that it would look a lot like CGI Ladybug’s default design because that has been her default throughout almost the entire concept process, it was to symbolize her just getting started. It was also a sneaky way to pay homage to what inspired her. And then eventually she designs her own Ladybug costume and transforms into that to show she’s finally excepted who she is now. Her appearance also changed a bit as Ladybug to better conceal her identity along with the magic. As Jeanette her hair was more blue whereas Ladybug it was a light back. Her eyes changed from blue to black and she was also a lot shorter as Ladybug. Originally in concept she also lived in the bakery with her father and her parents were divorced. Her mother was happily in a relationship with someone else and she often visited her but her mom lived in a different country and both her parents decided it would be more beneficial for her if she got to stay where she was raised and where her friends were. Her parents were on good terms as well, though she found it hard without her mom. I really miss her and I’m very sad I never got to bring this to fruition. I just found no one truly seemed interested in it and I didn’t think it would take off so I lost all motivation to make it. But I still draw the characters occasionally because I love them and their designs. I thought up a whole world. Kwamis and akumas worked differently. There was a few different villains. It was a bit darker (like the PV) but I tried to keep some of them charm of the show. I had a few twists thought up and heroes that didn’t have kwamis and worked more like Batman or Robin. And a miraculous even worked differently. I still love this world and think of it often. But, to finish this off, take some of my old art which was back when I completed her design (you can see I changed a little in the final product above).

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icyhotsugar19 · 1 year

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“A night to remember”

Authors note: Omg I genuinely cannot believe I'm doing this rn, Hi! Uhm it's Robyn! It's been a year and you probably didn't even miss this but here I am! With writing motivation..yay! And since I've kept reading fanfics my writing has most likely gotten better, 2020 and 2021 was a wild year.

The setting is in 1800s btw

It was a cold night.

You were running down the forest, escaping from someone..something..somebody..at this rate you couldn't even imagine what it was due to how scared you were, so you kept on running, and running down the dark forest hoping you'd escape from whatever was chasing you.

Your legs hurt and your lungs did too, due to the lack of air you were getting since you were running so fast you got a headache. You trip over a small rock, this making you fall so suddenly that you couldn't catch yourself. Your face hit the ground, you quickly try to get up but you're dizziness and leg cramping made it difficult for you. So you crawled and crawled and crawled for around 5 minutes until you find a mansion, red and black themed with gargoyles on each window, you were so desperate to finally lose the thing that was chasing you, that you were left with no option but to go in.

You stood up and slowly walked to the gates, black and sharp who shined with the beautiful moonlight coming from the sky. To your surprise the gates were open, as if something was waiting for you. You went in the front yard, yet all of the sudden you get chills running down your spine, as if something didn't want you there. Yet you kept heading to the front door. The grass was covered with fog who you didn't understand where it came from, nevertheless you paid it no attention.

Finally, you stood outside the front door, 2 wooden 5 foot doors who blocked your entry, these 2 had a particular handle, that looked like a bull's pierced nose. You laughed nervously at this thought. You knocked 3 times, hoping someone would let you in. But it wouldn't be much of a surprise if nobody did, since the lights were off. And the only sign of live coming from the mansion was the freshly cut bushes. Yet there was no answer, with much concern, you knock 3 more times. This time, you see something that catches your eye.

A strange figure flying around the blue night sky. Which looked like.. a bat?! Seems like the "bat" came in from a window, and suddenly theres black smoke coming from it. As if something just transformed. Then the window closes..You think this is odd but due it the headache and the feeling of almost passing out you couldn't think much about it. Your vision starts going black. That's when you see a figure opening the door. Seems to be a male dressed in a suit. A very pale man.. who's hair was bi-colored, hair split in the colors of red and white with a particular scar..You couldn't catch anymore details since you pass out.

When you wake up you find yourself in a pretty wealthy looking room, candles and a bed decorated with red blankets which was the one you were laying on. It had a slightly pink veil. "Pretty" you thought. Right after that. You see the same man who you saw the the doorstep. This time you had the opportunity to catch some details.

He had this black cape which's interior was red. A green collar along with an old fashioned tie. He had heterochromia. Making his eyes more captivating than they were. Something that really caught your attention was his scar and his fangs. Such long fangs.. that's a bit odd isn't it?

"Ma'am, are you feeling any better? Or is there something that perhaps pains you? If you need me to get you some water I'll most pleased will."

He said. In such a captivating manner. No one has ever talked to you with such care and concern

"N-no sir, Ill be fine, I can assure you that. But could you tell me who you are? And what is this place?"

You stuttered a bit due to the sudden appearance of this man. Who even though you were close or everyone from your kingdom and you knew all the faces from there, you couldn't recognize this one.

"Yes! Forgive my manners ma'am. My name is Shoto Todoroki, This is my mansion. Where my family and I used to live. I apologize if I scared you"

He said looking a bit upset due to his previous lack of manners. There was a short yet comfortable silence. Until he said;

"You looked a bit pale when I took you in. Was there something that you were running from? I'm saying this because I noticed a lot of sweat coming from you, and that you were Hyperventilating."

Pale?! He had no place to be talking about paleness if he looks like a sheet of paper! Though you understood his concern

"Yes there was. Though I cannot fathom out what it was."

He looked at the ground with a disappointed expression. He sighed and then got up.

"If there is anything you need, please just shout my name. And I will be heading here shortly."

He went downstairs.

You looked around the room more carefully. You noticed a beautifully designed rug. Red with yellow stripes. As if it belonged to a royal. The sight from the window was mesmerizing. You could see the bear moon with a thin of clouds surrounded by it.

You got up. Wanting to see more of the mansion and so you did. You went out the room and saw family pictures in the wall besides the stairs. It seemed like Shoto's family. His parents,His siblings, and little him.

You kept going down stairs and you see him with a glass of wine in his hand. Looking outside the window.

"Sir? I was wondering if you could tell me more about yourself. Don't ask why though. It's merely curiosity. Nothing more."

He turned around by the bear sound of the word "sir". You went down the stairs and got close to him

"Oh! Yes, uhm I've been living here since the day I was born. And my family has owned this house for generations. I can't deny it gets lonely."

You tilted your head with that last sentence. Thinking about how could it be lonely since he seemed so young. His family should still be around..right?

"If you don't mind me asking. Where is your family?"

He raised his sharp eyebrows at the question. As if he wasn't expecting it.

"My family? They're.. away."

I mean sure they were away but only because they moved a century ago. They thought it would be best for the family to split so they don't get hunt down. His father decided Shoto would stay on the house you are staying in.

You hummed at his answer. Looking outside the window as well. You could see the beautiful night sky covered in stars along with their biggest star. The moon. Such a wonderful view to share with such a handsome man.

The thought of human's sleep routine came to his mind out of nowhere. Realizing he had to send you to sleep

"My lady, it's very late at night. I think you should go rest based off how rough this night has been to you."

He says. But you Hear something that you can't believe. The certain word of "my lady" came out of him mouth. You couldn't tell if it was an accident or if it was intended. But you didn't care. It still made your heart flutter.

"You're right. Well! Guess I'll see you tomorrow when I wake up. Goodnight Shoto."

You say. Calling him by his name. Which this only made him get a tinted pink blush.

You went upstairs heading to your room. Not to your surprise the bed was so comfortable. As if you were shifting into a cloud. With this you came to your sleep pretty quickly. You went to sleep hoping to see that man again. A man like none you've ever met. Was it because of the house? His scar? His eyes? His hair? Or the way he talked to you? As if you were a delicate rose under his care. You couldn't fathom out which one it was. You just loved the way he made you feel. As if it was love at first sight.

Timeskip

The big morning sun rises out of your window. This making you squint your eyes. You slowly but surely get up from the bed. Ready to greet the man you saw last night. Yet he wasn't anywhere to be seen. You looked around the kitchen, living room, hallway, ballroom and even in the bathrooms but you couldn't find a clue. It is here when you open a door. This heading for his room. It was as dark as it could get. No windows. No candles. No nothing. Just pure darkness. Since you couldn't see anything you gave up and thought he just went to work or shop some food. What you didn't know is that he was in that room sleeping upside down. Just like a bat! He opened his eyes due to the cracking sound of the door. He stood up and went out wondering was was it you needed. But don't worry reader!! He won't touch any sunlight since The windows are closed. It's just candles.

He steps out to find you getting ready to go out

"Hello! Ma'am! I'm sorry I couldn't greet you earlier! I was busy."

He tried to excuse himself. This catching your attention. You turn back to him.

"Shoto it's ok! I understand if you were busy! But I have to go now! The village is waiting for me!"

His expression goes from happy to upset. He didn't want you to leave... he hasn't had any visitors in such a long time.. he hated being lonely.. oh man how he hated that feeling.

He runs downstairs to get close to you.

"Do you..actually need to leave?"

You could tell the upset and sad tone in his voice. Even though you had no option but to leave. You felt remorse.

"Listen here sir. I don't want to leave either but it's just I have very important things to do back home. I'll try to come and visit once in a while. Though make sure I can find you this time."

Before you leave you kiss his cheek.

Then you step outside. Disappearing into the woods. Shoto knew he couldn't do anything about it. So there he stood

Alone again. Longing for your presence.

Word count 1843

TYSM for reading! If you want to keep contact with me my discord is Robyn-tastic#0111 and TikTok is @autistictodoroki !!

Hope we meet again. Sincerely. Robyn

#shoto x reader

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linkedkeysau-official · 2 years

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Whumptober 2022- Linked Keys edition

Day 3- Tears (alt prompt)

TW: graphic imagery and depictions of dead children (in a dream)

Mask dreamed he was back home. Not in Warriors’ world, or even at Lon Lon Ranch, but… Home. He dreamed of Kokiri Forest. And even though it had been so long since he left, the memory of it was as clear as day, so much so that he could almost feel the breeze blowing through the trees, he could almost smell and taste the fresh, yet earthy air that he’d grown so accustomed to. He had Navi by his side, and nothing but his old slingshot, boomerang, and Goron bracelet from the first part of his very first adventure. He didn’t even have the Ocarina of Time; he still only had the little pink fairy ocarina Saria had given him.

Saria… She had to be here!

“Link!” A familiar voice cried out. Just as Link thought that, he could see his childhood friend running towards him, “You’re back! Come on, I wanna show you something!” She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him behind her as she ran through the village of the Kokiri, towards the entrance to the Lost Woods. He already had a feeling he knew where she was taking him, and he knew the route by heart. Still, seeing his friend so excited, he let her drag him along, through the same old twists and turns, past the shortcuts to Death Mountain and Zora’s Domain, down the same path towards the Forest Temple, and Saria’s favorite spot in the Sacred Forest Meadow. Navi kept pace easily, flying after the two kids with just as much enthusiasm. Through maze-like walls, up the stairs, she continued to lead him. Until…

She vanished. And Navi with her. Mask was in shock. One moment, Saria was holding his hand, giggling excitedly while their fairies trailed along after them. The forest had been bright and full of life and movement and energy. But now… Mask was all alone. No Saria. No Navi. No laughter, or sunlight, or even sound. Everything was suddenly dark, and cold, and empty, and silent… Just like the aching void in Mask’s heart that had just as suddenly opened up again. He was all alone, just like always. Slowly he approached the tree stump where Saria liked to sit while she played her own ocarina, hoping that she would reappear. To Mask’s horror, all that he saw was a message carved into the wood:

You never belonged here

Mask woke with a start, hot tears stinging the corners of his eyes. That was certainly a new one… He'd had nightmares before but more often than not, they were memories of all the bad things that had happened on his adventures. Come to think of it, it was only after meeting the other heroes that he started to worry he'd get too attached and end up alone again.

The other heroes… Mask looked around at all of them, all but one asleep (this one person being Tracks, currently in watch duty for the night). Mask glanced over at Time, his older self. He wondered how he could be so comfortable like this. Didn't he still worry he'd be abandoned by everyone he loved? Or worse, that he'd be forced to abandon them? How could Time be so… Okay? Especially knowing that he and Mask had always been— and will always be— outsiders. It was impossible to fit in when one has traveled through time as much as they had, and he knew that both of them knew that. He almost felt jealous of the older Hero of Time.

Mask wiped away the tears that had started to trace lines down his dusty little cheeks (yeah he definitely needed a bath next chance he got). He couldn't afford to sit here feeling sorry for himself. This was just how his life was; he'd accepted that long ago. Any hope of that changing was just wishful thinking. He had to stay strong, be independent. He wasn't going to get any more attached to this group than he already was. He wouldn't even go to Warriors for comfort—

Warriors… Mask had already gotten too attached to him, hadn't he? Surely the Captain would know something was wrong if Mask suddenly began distancing himself again, but what could he do? If fate were to take him away…

"No… Please don't… Don't take them!" He heard Warriors moan, "Don't take them away—! Cia… Please…"

Cia? The dark sorceress who had started the War of Eras and brought Mask into Warriors' time in the first place? What did she have to do with anything…? Unless Wars was having a nightmare as well…

"Wars…?" Mask asked quietly, approaching the older hero. He definitely seemed to still be asleep, though tossing and turning fitfully with a panicked expression on his face.

"Stop! Don't kill him! I'll… I'll do anything!" Warriors shouted, "I surrender! Just please don't kill them! They're just kids!!!"

"Wars!" Mask cried out, attempting to shake him awake. The Captain's eyes flew open at last, looking around as he desperately tried to figure out where he was and what had woken him up. Then he saw Mask sitting beside him.

"Mask…?" He asked. Immediately he forced a calm expression so the kid wouldn't see the panic underneath, though his eyes were still full of fear. Mask had intended to try and comfort him, though he quickly realized that would be a lot harder when he remembered the Captain adamantly refused to show weakness in front of him. A bit of an unhealthy habit, but then again, Mask did the same thing; trying to appear strong even when underneath, he was in so much pain.

"What's wrong, Sprite?" Warriors asked him. There was only one way to do this.

"I… Had a bad dream." Mask said. Not a lie, but not what Mask was concerned with at the moment either. Though, hopefully it would get Warriors to let his guard down.

"Aw, Sprite… C'mere." Warriors sat up and held his arms out, beckoning Mask into a hug. Mask accepted the offer, "You wanna talk about it?" Warriors asked. Mask hesitated, but shook his head. The child simply buried his face in the blue scarf around his caretaker's neck. He had to admit, something about Warriors' hugs always had a way of calming him down, even if he was trying to keep his distance.

Warriors seemed to calm down a bit as well the longer he held Mask in his arms. His racing heartbeat slowed to a non-panicky pace as he let the fact sink in that it had been nothing more than a dream. Cia was done. The war was over. Mask and Wind were alive. That witch hadn't… actually killed them. The image of the two kids lying on the floor of the Temple of Souls, blood pooling around them from slit throats… two pairs of blue eyes wide with fear, an unspoken cry for help on both of their bloody lips… he was sure that would haunt him for life. But seeing Wind asleep, just a short distance away, chest rising and falling with each calm, steady breath; holding Mask in his arms, the kid's tiny hands clinging tightly to his scarf in his sleep… That was enough to ease the pain from Warriors' mind.

With this overwhelming feeling of relief, however, came the realization of what exactly the dream was: a manifestation of some of his biggest fears. Cia was ruthless, and very well could have killed these poor kids if she thought it would get him to surrender to her. And it would have worked, too. In truth, Warriors was scared to death of losing those he cared about– those he felt responsible for. The thought of losing either of these kids, especially at this point after all they’d been through together… Well, Warriors simply couldn’t bear the mere idea of it. He pulled Mask tighter against his body, trying his hardest to hold back tears. He couldn’t lose this kid… He swore he would never let anything happen to him. He and Wind were basically all Warriors had, aside from maybe Zelda.

Mask was not actually asleep, and could hear Warriors whimpering and sobbing as Mask was pulled into a tighter hug. Mask had never seen– or heard– the captain actually cry before, so it was a bit surprising. And yet, it made him seem more human; it drove in the fact that he really could have emotions… And that no matter what he tried to appear, sometimes underneath he could still be vulnerable. Despite knowing that it might give away that Mask was only pretending to be asleep, he shifted in Warriors’ arms to where he could wrap his own arms around the older hero. He didn’t say anything, but the message was clear: “It’s okay. I’m here”. The same thing that Warriors would always do for Mask when he was scared or upset.

“I love you so much, Sprite… More than you could possibly know.” Warriors sobbed quietly, planting a small kiss on the top of his kid’s head, “And I don’t ever want to lose you.”

“I love you too.” Mask replied softly. He couldn’t help but smile, “I knew you could show emotion.” Warriors was taken aback by that last statement, realizing that Mask had pretended to be asleep on purpose, just to get Warriors to admit he wasn’t okay. And dammit, it worked.

“You little shit…” He muttered affectionately, giving a small chuckle.

#linked keys #LK #whumptober2022 #LK Mask #LK Warriors #not lu

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thewispguy · 2 years

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I watched the Chip ’n Dale Rescue Rangers Movie. My thoughts?

As a Chip 'n Dale Movie, I think it's okay at best. As a Rescue Rangers Movie? It's pretty bad. It makes me glad that DuckTales 2017 turned out as good as it did. That show was made by people who loved the Disney Afternoon cartoons, and tried to do it some justice for the new generation. This one feels like the people here wanted to make "Roger Rabbit 2" instead and simply chose a nostalgic property because reboots are the cool new thing.

When I first heard of the movie being made, I was expecting "The Rescue Rangers take on Fat Cat/Nimnul/an original villain in their most dangerous scheme yet!" Or "The Rescue Rangers have gone their separate ways, but join together once more to take on a new threat!" Or "This is a new origin story for the how Rescue Rangers came together to stop Fat Cat!" Not "Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2: Starring Chip 'n Dale from the Rescue Rangers!"

While Monty's kidnapping does drive the plot, Gadget and Zipper only help out at the very end of the movie where they fly Dale to his destination, and even then they remain uninvolved in the final conflict! Like, you could’ve replaced them with almost anyone else, and things still would’ve been the same. If this is supposed to be a “Rescue Rangers Movie,” why not have Gadget and Zipper team up with the duo to help find Monty? You mean to tell me Monty called in Chip n’ Dale for help, but not Gadget and his best pal Zipper?

Heck, why not have Fat Cat and Nimnul help out as well? Sure, you could argue “they’re evil, they would never help those Rescue Rodents,“ but as previously mentioned, in this world, The Rescue Rangers are actors.

In an early scene in the movie, both villains seem to be enjoying making the episodes alongside the heroes. I’m sure they would be more than happy to help them find one of their missing co-stars. Imagine Ellie going “You guys are helping? Aren’t you villains?“ and Fat Cat snarking back at her “Uh, hello? We’re actors. That was only in the show,“ with Nimnul following up with “We’re really nice once you get to know us,” or something like that.

Speaking of which... Gadget and Zipper? Really? This pairing really feels like it’s a spit on the fans than anything. I’d rather Chip/Gadget, Dale/Gadget, or just Gadget living by herself than that. (And I’m not even a massive shipper in the Rescue Rangers fandom)

I’d probably be less upset by that if they weren’t so selective on what Rescue Rangers lore they brought back. Like, Monty’s obsession with cheese wasn’t something that Monty “the character” was obsessed with. Monty “the actor” is also addicted to cheese, and it’s treated like a drug addiction. (And nobody in-universe cares that they wrote his addiction into their script because...?)

Heck, Gadget herself comments that “I guess my character from the old show and my character in real life are basically exactly the same!“ I might be remembering wrong, but didn’t Gadget sometimes display an interest in Chip, despite her being rather oblivious to love?

Heck, Zipper was shown being interested in Queenie the Queen Bee in one episode. Seems to me like they deliberately chose to ignore these two facts simply to spite the original fans.

And then there's the whole Peter Pan situation. Even ignoring its very unfortunate ties to the Bobby Driscoll tragedy, his backstory has a major plothole when Peter encounters one of the Lost Boys when he and his minions are chasing the two chipmunks.

How did that kid not age a day while Peter did? Never explained.

There was that one leak that suggests that PLUTO was intended to be the main villain. And you know what? That might just be the case. When you watch the film with that scrapped plot in mind, you start to notice some things. Like how our main antagonist Peter - originally “Mean Dean” in the leak - doesn’t really have a lot of lines of dialogue before he transforms into that amalgamation of a cartoon, especially compared to the second antagonist of the film. Heck, Mean Dean may not have even been intended to be Peter, only for that to change when they rewrote the script! But I digress...

That being said, there were some enjoyable moments here and there. I even think the flashbacks to Chip 'n Dale's childhood was pretty cute. But it's not enough to save the movie for me, and I pray a sequel to this - whether it's following Chip 'n Dale or Darkwing Duck - never happens. If you absolutely have to watch it, then I suggest you “set sails on the high-seas, matey!“ and never look back.

It’s true what they say: “Sometimes, some films deserve to slip through the cracks.“

#Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Movie #TheWispGuy's Thoughts #TheWispGuy's Reviews

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assbutt-writes · 2 months

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The Forest Chapter 2

Chapter below cut

[RECORDING STARTS, A BUTTON ON A TAPE RECORDER CLICKS, AND A FAINT TAPE WHIRRING NOISE CAN BE HEARD]

JON: Statement of Allison Holt, regarding the fire in her school and the books that dripped green goo. Original statement given February 15th, 2010. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, head archivist of the Magnus Institute, London.

Statement begins.

Look, I didn’t mean to burn down the school. Wait, no, that’s a lie, I kind of did, okay, but when you have hordes upon hordes of book-monster-things chasing after you and your only weapon is a single lighter in a room filled with monsters made out of paper, there’s only so much you can do. The up-side is that at least now school’s cancelled, and I don’t think anyone was hurt, at least not by the fire. I think I saw Travis get eaten by Mr. Byler’s copy of War and Peace, and Hannah might have been eaten by her copy of Flying the Dragon, but other than that, I think everyone got out okay.

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. I think it started with the library. Luckily the librarians were out for lunch so it was closed, but it was terrifying to walk to those doors and see hundreds of books throwing themselves against the door, every slam causing more of this dark green goo to fly out of the books’ pages and cover the door. When I saw what was happening, I ran the other way, and I found the fire alarm near the entrance and pulled it. The alarm seemed to make the books more frantic, and even more of them flew to the door and started banging. I say flew, because that’s the easiest way to describe it, but it wasn’t like them flapping their pages like wings. No, they seemed to be teleporting a little bit at a time, moving somewhat slowly while flickering in and out of existence.

When the entire door was covered in books, I could have sworn I saw what looked like a woman wearing a tattered and old dark green dress, her entire body seeming to flicker in and out of existence, like a ghost in one of those old horror movies. Her mouth was open in a scream of fury that I could hear even through the door, and it left my ears ringing when she disappeared a second later. When the books broke down the door and started moving toward me, I ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction.

As I was running, I saw Mr. Byler’s copy of War and Peace shoot out tendrils of the dark green goo at Tyler Grant, which wrapped around him and pulled him closer to the book. I saw what looked like a ghost of a woman, her translucent, flickering body the same colour as the goo, and when the tendrils pulled him to the woman, she wrapped her arms around him, and he disappeared. I kept running and saw the same thing happen to Hannah. By the time the books caught up to me, I was in Mrs. Birch’s classroom, and I was completely surrounded. I felt around in my pockets for anything I could use as a weapon, and I found my mom’s lighter and sighed with relief. I had found it on the table that morning and put it in my pocket so she couldn’t use it.

I thought that since books are made of paper and these things at least looked like books, if I threw the lighter at the books, then they would burn, right? Well, I was a little too right. The book-monsters caught fire, but so did the goo, and then so did the desk, and I barely had enough time to jump out of the window before the entire room caught fire. I ran out to the field where the rest of the students were, and I looked around for my brother Elliot. Once I found him, I tried to tell him what happened, and he looked at me like I was crazy. Everyone I’ve ever told has looked at me that way. I’m not, though. I know what I saw, and, if my testimony isn’t enough for you, they ended up finding Tyler and Hannah’s bodies in the fire, with third-degree burns all over them. I did some research and found out that there were what seemed to be rings of acid burns around the areas where I saw the tendrils grab them.

JON: Statement ends. Once he gets back from securing the goo, I’m going to have Martin double-check the story about the school burning and the “acid rings” on the bodies of Hannah and Tyler. It might prove to be difficult, though, because the only person involved in this story whose full name is known is Allison Holt. This statement does seem to lend some credibility to the tape we found due to the acidic goo mentioned in both of them, along with the fact that this statement is dated in early 2010, meaning that this is either a prank played by some extremely dedicated people, or that this situation might be-

MARTIN: [DISTANTLY, VERY FRANTICALLY] Jon! Someone! Help! No, get off- [SCREAMS]

JON: [SHOUTING] Martin? Martin, what’s going on?

[SILENCE]

JON: [YELLING] Martin?

[THERE ARE SOUNDS OF THE TAPE RECORDER BEING PICKED UP AND A CHAIR ROLLING BACKWARDS. THE DOOR SLAMS OPEN, AND HEAVY, FAST FOOTSTEPS CAN BE HEARD. A FEW SECONDS LATER ANOTHER DOOR IS THROWN OPEN]

JON: Martin? Where are you? [PAUSE] Martin, this isn’t funny. [PAUSE, THEN SHOUTING] Sasha! Tim! Anyone!

[DOOR OPENS]

SASHA: Jon? What’s going on?

JON: [VOICE LACED WITH FEAR] It’s Martin. He’s gone.

#the magnus archives #jon/martin #tma #the magnus archives fanfic #tma fanfic #ao3 #fanfic #fanfiction

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tiggymalvern · 1 year

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Burn Notice Season Five

AKA the season where it’s very, very obvious that the Michael Westen train is only going bad places for everyone on board. That doesn’t make a massive difference to Fiona, in some ways, because her entire life is a series of dangling threads, any one of which could be tugged on to unravel all the rest on any given day. Sam and Jesse – this would have been their cue to get off before the train crashes. Probably right around the time they were all deciding to destroy evidence in the murder of a CIA dude. And I absolutely get why Sam can’t – that’s a commitment made too many years ago and reinforced too many times. But Jesse? He’s the late-comer to this party; he should have distanced himself before everyone picked up a shovel and dug deeper. At this point, Jesse seems to be sticking around because he’s just too nice a guy for his own good. The season four plotline where it was suggested that Jesse was in love with Fiona appears to have been abandoned – it never came up again this season, which I think is a good thing, because I wasn’t seeing it. The chemistry wasn’t there. Though maybe that was originally intended to be part of his motivation for staying. Michael’s mother – yikes. In season four, the gang started borrowing Maddy now and then when they wanted a harmless old lady to provide a distraction by acting helpless, or playing a Karen, or ‘accidentally’ tripping a security alarm while they watched what happened next. The problem with that is that the Burn Notice team creep is very real – once they’ve done something a couple of times it becomes normal, and a basis to go a teensy bit further. And Maddy wants to help, and she has probably a bit lot too much faith in Michael and his little pack of enablers, all of whom have a very strange concept of acceptable risk. It’s an atrocious combination. Maddy’s role in the series has been completely transformed from where she started out, and the Doylist response to that is, ‘Yay! Sharon Gless gets to be awesome! Good for her!’ And the Watsonian response is, ‘OMG, WTF, you people have to STOP THIS RIGHT NOW.’ The Gang of Four needed to sit down one quiet afternoon when they weren’t juggling six different things on the fly and draw up some hard rules as to what they would and would not ask Maddy to do (mostly that should be NOT). And then they needed a mutual enforcement pact to actively police one another on it, because none of these people have a good record with boundaries. Anyone who thinks, ‘I could ask Maddy to help here,’ should have to run it by at least two of the others and get whatever passes for a sanity check among them. And Michael should always be a person they check with first because, you know, she’s his MOTHER. Having said all of that, there’s one episode where they actually do the team sanity check, and everyone including Michael fails it. And they would all have said it was only because the circumstances were particularly dire that day, but there’s the other aspect of the Burn Notice team creep problem – particularly dire circumstances come along more and more often. It’s a thing that happens when everyone picks up a shovel and digs... Jesse – I don’t know if it was the writers’ intention when they introduced him, but IMO the biggest effect of Jesse this season is to shine a very bright light on everything that’s wrong with Michael. Jesse and Michael spent the fourth season in pretty much the same circumstances, ie screwed over by other people, desperate to clear themselves of blame and get their old jobs back. But when Jesse got what he wanted, he decided he didn’t want it any more. It wasn’t the same, working for people who’d kicked him out on his arse, desperate and destitute, when he’d done absolutely nothing wrong, and knowing they wouldn’t hesitate to treat him that way again. When Jesse’s circumstances changed, Jesse changed too, and then he made the decision to switch up his life. Good for him. Which brings us to: Michael – sigh. In stark contrast to Jesse, he’s willing to accept even the kind of unpleasant, half-in, half-out set-up where he has all of the risk and not so much of the support. Risk that doesn’t end with Michael, obviously, it spreads to everyone, because they’re all getting drafted into the dodgy world of NOC (non-official cover, meaning, 'You get caught, we disown you.'). Michael can’t contemplate change. He wants everything back exactly the way it was, regardless of the time that’s passed or any of the other people in his life. He’s living with Fiona now, but still yearning to be the guy who vanishes to unknown places for unknown durations at ten minutes’ notice. Amazingly enough, Fiona isn’t thrilled with this plan for their future, and Michael is in no way oblivious to that – he just doesn’t much care. Also, when Fiona’s telling you that you’ve passed the boundaries of acceptable risk, then you really have. I love Fiona now, but she’s always been the lunatic fringe of this particular outfit. Except for those days when Michael outdoes her. Fiona – I said back in season three that she’d developed a real sense of responsibility, and that’s what made her likeable. I wasn’t wrong. She’s still Fiona, but she has a perspective now that goes far beyond herself, and that wasn’t true at the start. (She’s also the one team member who isn’t responsible for dragging Maddy into the vigilante justice business, which rather illustrates the point.) The current Fiona will protect not just Michael and Sam from the consequences of her actions, but people she barely knows as well. She was deeply unhappy about Jesse’s situation in season four, and she was the one pushing earliest and hardest to try and help him, to fix what they’d broken. Faced with a repeat of that situation, and inflicting the same damage on someone else, she flat out refuses to do it. Michael, meanwhile, is firmly in the ‘protect Fiona at all costs and deal with any fallout later’ camp, with Sam wavering somewhere between them and desperately looking for a middle ground that isn’t there. Sam doesn’t do well in morally murky places, which might be an odd thing to say, given his life choices. But he always wants to see a situation as clear cut black and white – as long as he can believe that something’s the right thing to do, he’ll do any number of illegal and sometimes downright nasty things to achieve it, cheerfully and with zero qualms. Sam’s loyalty to Michael has extended to include Fiona by now, and it’s when his loyalty clashes with the right thing that he really struggles, like when Michael had him steal the flight data for Gilroy in season three. Mostly in those situations, Sam’s loyalty wins, but he’s never happy with being forced to make a choice like that. Which is unfortunate, because I suspect the Michael Westen train is going to keep taking him there. And on an entirely different note: Have we actually seen the last of Larry? Can we believe a death without a body? It’s long past time someone permanently solved the Larry problem, so I’m hoping Fiona has.

#burn notice

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